Symbiosis
by izzybunny
Summary: While on a camping trip with his high school biology class, Yao Wang runs into trouble in the form of a man-eating snake-man, and soon is making a deadly deal in order to survive. IggyChu sort of. Probably won't ever be finished, author's note inside has further explanation. Enjoy what there is, though!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N Hey all! This story needs a bit of a background, so allow me to provide it: Last summer I went through a really bad phase of anxiety and depression, to a point I was suicidal. I'm alright now, especially thanks to my amazing friends who got me through it, but also because of writing this fanfiction. See, I was sort of forced into an Independent Study for Biology, and it was this fic that I used to calm down and relax and just… write for fun._

_As I said in the description, it's unfinished, and it likely will remain that way permanently. Now that said anxiety and depression is over with, and I've sort of left the Hetalia fandom, I doubt I'll ever finish it, but I thought it would be interesting to read maybe!_

**Part 1**

The bus came to a halt and Professor Braginski stood up. "Alright, class, we've arrived!" Beneath the Russian teacher's normal cheeriness was obvious exhaustion. It had been a very long drive over here… "Please bring your personal belongings as they will be staying with you at the campsite." Slowly, the students stood up, talking quietly (and some not-so-quietly) amongst themselves, luggage in hand.

A soft poke on the shoulder caused Yao Wang to sit up, looking around as though unsure of where he was. His eyes landed on the boy who sat beside him and his best friend, Kiku Honda. Kiku was a year younger than him, but the fact that his grades had allowed him to get into many classes above his grade level made him feel as though they were at an equal level. "A- Are we there? I- I had been sleeping." Yao murmured, fighting back a yawn.

Kiku nodded. "Ah… it was obvious." He rolled his eyes and stood up, putting his backpack on. Yao stretched and followed suite, luggage case in hand. He followed Kiku down the bus' center, behind the line of students. There were not many, Yao noted. At least, not nearly as many as the other two field trips the Biology class had taken this year. But then again, it was the only trip that they had taken so far where they would spend the night. He supposed other students would not be so keen on wasting a day of their life out in the middle of the woods…

As Yao and Kiku stepped out of the bus, they were greeted with a surprisingly dull light. "Overcast," Yao noted. Kiku nodded with disinterest, looking up at the dark grey clouds that blanketed the sky.

"Yeah, sure hope it doesn't ruin things!" a voice behind them said. Feliciano Vargas walked up to them, staring at the cloudy weather. Feliciano was in Yao's grade, but he had a bad habit of acting immature enough to be a freshman.

"I'm sure it will be fine." Yao decided with a smile. At that moment, Professor Braginski walked up, facing the entire class. Feliciano, Yao, and Kiku fell silent, as well as the others.

Professor Braginski looked around at everyone, smiling, still looking very tired. "Alright, listen." he began, holding up a clipboard with what was assumed to be some sort of procedure on it. He looked at it for a moment, reading it over, before saying, "Juniors and sophomores will be partnering up separately for the night. To save time, you have already been assigned your tents and partners. Please come talk to me separately about where you'll be staying and with who. Tomorrow morning we'll be hiking up to the waterfall with Matthew Williams, who will be giving a talk about forest ecosystems.

"Tonight, we will go down to the campsite, set up, eat dinner and have a discussion on the forest and it's wildlife - which I expect all of you to take notes on… and then we will have some free time. At nine thirty I want everyone in their tents for the rest of the night, and keeping quiet enough that those who plan to sleep are able to. Understood?" He looked around at the students. Some gave a nod or mumbled a "yes". Others showed no signs of comprehension, but this was nothing new.

Yao turned to Kiku, sighing. "Looks like I can't stay with you." That's what they had wanted, after all. But with him being a Junior and Kiku being a sophomore, he supposed it would not be happening.

"Yes, too bad." Kiku sighed. "Still, I suppose we should go find out who our partners are, hm?" Yao agreed to this, and the two friends made their way up to Professor Braginski. They waited for a moment, watching as he told a younger blonde girl who she was paired up with, before he turned his attention to them.

"Ah, Yao Wang!" the teacher smiled brightly and turned to his clipboard. "Let's see… You're with Feliciano Vargas. And Kiku Honda… You'll be with Feliks Łukasiewicz. Head on over to the campsite, okay? It should be through that trail over there." He pointed towards a trail that lead into the forest. A sign was beside it, the words "CAMPSITE, 500 METERS" written in bold letters across it.

Yao nodded and said a thank you to Professor Braginski before turning. Some of the students were already beginning on the trail, while a few seemed to be hanging behind, talking or still figuring out who their partner was. Yao's golden eyes searched over the group, and found Feliciano standing with his brother, Lovino. Although Lovino was a bit older than Feliciano, they were in the same grade. Funny, that Professor Braginski had not simply put them together…

Oh well. "Hey, Feliciano!" Yao called, waving. "You're with me, aru." He smiled weakly. He really did not know Feliciano well at all, but he did not have anything against him or anything, so he supposed things would turn out alright. It was just for one night, after all.

Chuckling awkwardly at this, Feliciano nodded. "Alright, great!" He looked up again, at the clouds, and swallowed. However, before he could say anything on the matter - and it was obvious he wanted to - his twin spoke up with,

"Stop that, Feli." He gave him a rough, albeit obviously caring, shove, and turned to Yao. "He's a big baby about thunderstorms." he explained, causing Feliciano to let out an embarrassed whimper and chuckle.

Yao smiled. "It's alright. It probably won't rain tonight." He shrugged and nodded towards the trail. "Come on, let's get going!" Feliciano nodded and followed him. Lovino stayed put, probably waiting for his partner or something. "Tonight will be fun," Yao promised, honestly wanting to reassure himself that this was really the case.

Feliciano chuckled weakly again and nodded. "Yeah!" he agreed. "I haven't gone camping in a long time!"

"Neither have I," Yao admitted. "And last time, I was stuck in a tent with my brothers, which was terrible." He rolled his eyes and decided at that moment not to bring it up again. After all, there was no good reason to dwell on bad events from his past on a night like tonight. As they made their way to the trail, Yao noticed Feliciano look up at the sky again. He smiled reassuringly, "Hey, it probably won't rain tonight, aru. And even if it does, it's not like there will be a big storm or anything."

Feliciano turned, looking at Yao with what seemed to be surprise. He then cleared his throat and nodded, smiling once more. "You're right!" he decided, wringing his hands. With that, they began to walk down the path to the campsite.

XXX

Everything went exactly as planned, which Yao supposed was a good thing. All of the tents were set up, and dinner - which was hot dogs and potato chips - was edible enough, especially by school fieldtrip standards. As promised, Professor Braginski gave a long talk on ecosystems and biomes and the forest food chain, and this was just as boring as imagined. Notes were taken and few questions were asked, and finally they were given the free time that every student desired.

Kiku immediately found Yao, a look of exasperation on his face. "Feliks is something else." he murmured quietly, shaking his head.

Laughing, Yao rolled his eyes. "I've got Feli, remember? Don't start on something else." He looked around, eyes going up to the sky. Why was Feliciano so worried about the weather, anyway? he wondered. It was probably just Feli being Feli, but… it did leave him feeling rather apprehensive.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Kiku asked with a sigh, looking around the campgrounds.

Yao thought for a moment. "We could go for a walk?" he asked lamely. What else was there to do in the middle of the forest? He sighed and looked around, and ended up pointing to a small area where the trees cleared a bit. "What if we went and explored over there?" he suggested, smiling.

Kiku nodded. "Alright." he agreed, walking towards the makeshift trail. Yao followed and soon they were surrounded by forest. Kiku glanced back to the direction the campsite was in - now rather hard to see due to the trees. "We need to make sure we know the way back."

"I'm sure it won't be that hard. We're not walking too far out, anyway." Yao shrugged, looking back as well. Kiku sighed and nodded reluctantly, and followed Yao deeper into the forest. It was nice, really. Vivid shades of green surrounded them and life seemed to spill from every direction. Sounds of all sorts echoed around them. The sun was about halfway down, and there was still more than enough light to see.

The two friends walked mostly in silence. And when they did speak, the conversation seemed very empty. Pointless, really. But it was still a pleasant experience, and if anything Yao preferred it to spending the evening stuck at home with his siblings and parents. Then, right as the sun was nearly done setting and the sky was nearly dark, a drop of cold rain hit Yao's head. He blinked and turned to Kiku.

"I think it's starting to rain, aru." he stated, not sounding as much nervous or worried as he was mildly irritated. Another drop hit him, this one on his arm, and he flinched. "Yeah, we should head back."

Kiku sighed, looking up at the sky. A raindrop hit his cheek. "Alright," he agreed with a frown. "Let's go." He began to walk, and it was Yao's turn to follow. They made their way through the forest once more, and by the time they were about halfway back, rain was falling heavily and relentlessly, and both boys were drenched.

Yao hugged himself. "Cold and wet," he muttered, moving a hand to undo the ponytail that he normally kept his hair in, letting the wet strands of dark hair fall around his shoulders. Kiku nodded and let out a "mmh" of agreement. Suddenly, a soft rustling sound was heard to Yao's left. The boy turned and asked urgently, "Did you hear that?"

"It's raining, Yao." Kiku replied with a sigh. "All sorts of animals are running for cover. Don't worry about it."

Nodding, Yao forced a chuckle. "Sorry, I'm being silly. Guess I'm just upset about the rain, aru." He glanced up at the sky and rolled his eyes, continuing to walk.

CRACK!

Yao squealed with surprise and jumped to the side, staring. Something big had made that noise, he thought nervously, peering into the direction it had come from but unable to properly make anything out. "K- Kiku…"

"I heard it, Yao. Stop worrying. Probably just a fox or a snake or something."

Nodding again, the older boy tried his best to ignore it. He was shivering now, from both being cold and being extremely worried. He hugged himself tighter than before, walking on, strands of hair falling onto his face and allowing water to drip into his eyes but not wanting to let himself go long enough to fix it.

Suddenly, Yao fell, vaguely aware of something grabbing onto his ankle. Kiku turned, staring with surprise. "Are you alright?" he asked. Yao let out a groan and moved to stand up, but before he was able to, he watched Kiku jump back in what seemed like fear and cry out, face going pale. Yao frowned, wondering what had caused the reaction. However, he was given no time to dwell on it, for suddenly a terrible pain erupted in the back of his head, and he fell back down, unconscious.

XXX

Kiku returned to the campground what felt like an eternity later, body sore and shaky and face paler than usual. The rain was starting to stop now, with only a few droplets of water falling occasionally. As he walked into the campground, everyone ran up to him. Professor Braginski made his way through the crowd of students, a relieved look on his face. "Kiku, you're back! We were worried…" The teacher frowned as he looked around. "Yao… isn't with you…"

Shaking his head, Kiku felt his usually calm composure leave him as he grabbed hold of the professor's shirt, tugging at him desperately. "Yao was… Yao was taken." he explained, trembling. The students gasped. "It was… This… this thing came out of nowhere and… and it… it grabbed him. I… I couldn't fight it off."

Trying to keep calm for the sake of his students, Professor Braginski gently took Kiku's hands, forcing him to let go of his shirt. "What did the person look like? Who took Yao?" his words were calm, but beneath his tone was an underlying sense of fear.

"It wasn't a person." Kiku breathed out, staring up at his teacher with fear in his eyes. "It was… a snake. I think. But it had the head of a man."

For a moment there was silence. Then, much to Kiku's dismay and horror, the students all began to laugh. Kiku shook his head, eyes wide and tears threatening to fall from them. "I am not making this up!" he insisted desperately. "It had a snake's body and a man's head. It attacked Yao and I couldn't fight it off." More laughing.

Professor Braginski sighed. "Regardless of what the kidnapper looked like, this is very serious. I hope all of you feel ashamed for laughing." The class went silent once more, and the teacher turned back to Kiku. "We'll give Yao a chance to show up on his own tonight, and alert the police tomorrow morning if he doesn't come back by then. I'm afraid it's not safe to go out and look for him ourselves, so there's not much more we can do for now." Slowly, Kiku nodded, looking very shaken up still. "How about you go to your tent and get ready for bed, alright?"

Feeling suddenly very numb, Kiku nodded again and turned towards the tent he and his partner had set up. Yao would return, he told himself, not quite able to believe anything else. Yao was going to come back. Yao was fine. Nothing bad was going to happen to him. He would show up tomorrow morning completely healthy and happy and everyone could just pretend like it had never happened…

As he made his way over to his tent, Kiku felt tears finally spill from his eyes. That alone showed the depth of the situation, how very scary it was. Kiku never cried.

XXX

Yao could not remember the last time his head had hurt so badly, he thought to himself, groaning weakly. He moved to stand up, noticing he was currently lying on his stomach, but found himself much too dizzy. Instead, he ended up sitting up, leaning against… was that stone? He turned. Yes, he was in a cave of some sort. How? He thought back to what had happened. The last thing he could remember was Kiku staring with that colorless, terrified expression…

"Oh, you're finally up! Hello!"

Letting out a cry of surprise, Yao looked around for the source of the voice. It had come from deeper into the cave, he realized, growing scared. "H- Hello?"

A very odd sound suddenly reverberated from the cave. It sounded like… rubbing, even. Something was rubbing against the cave floor. But not exactly. No, it was…

Slithering.

The word came to Yao's mind out of nowhere, and immediately he knew it was the truth. There was something slithering towards him. He trembled, staring into the darkness, head sore and mind racing, his senses dizzy.

"You've been out for about forty-five minutes." the voice explained. It was calm and collected and shockingly polite, and… British. He sounded older, but not too old… maybe in his late twenties. Yao swallowed thickly. Was this a joke of some sort? Or… or was he dealing with a criminal? A rapist? A bounty hunter? He did not know, and he was not sure he wanted to.

From the shadows came the oddest thing Yao had ever seen. He was a man. From the waist up, at least. A rather nice looking one at that, with pretty green eyes and thick eyebrows and untidy blond hair. He wore no shirt - in fact, he wore no clothing at all. But that hardly mattered, for from the waist down, he was… a snake. Yes, instead of legs, instead of anything, the rest of his body was long and green and covered in shining scales.

Yao stared, shocked and terrified. "What are you?" he squeaked, pressing against the cave wall as if wishing he could just sink through it and disappear.

Much to Yao's surprise, the creature smiled politely and slithered forward, facing him. "I am Arthur Kirkland," he answered, extending a hand. Yao stared at it for a moment. A human hand on a snake. A human… and a snake… combined. He felt sick to his stomach. However, out of pure fear that if he refused he would have to face a fate much worse than anything he could ever imagine, he accepted the creature's hand, shaking it hesitantly. "I saw you out there in the rain."

"Where's Kiku?!" Yao asked immediately, suddenly coming to his senses.

Arthur frowned for a moment, before smiling and shaking his head. "Oh, the boy you were with? Don't worry about him. The moment he saw me he ran away. I'm sure he's fine."

Yao looked around. His head still hurt and his thoughts were blurry. Surely he had a concussion or something. Was he going to die? What did Arthur want?! Staring up at the snake man with worry, Yao asked, "Why did you take me here?"

"I'm… not particularly sure, really." Arthur said now, thinking over Yao's words for a long time. He hummed and shrugged, and his tail curled a bit. "I suppose I was bored and something about you caught my attention. Maybe you smelled good or something. I'm not sure." He leaned forward, sniffing the other, a long tongue flicking from his mouth.

Yao shivered and backed up more, pressing himself further against the wall. "Let me go." he demanded, voice weak. "I… I need to get back to camp and… and you can't just keep me here, aru." It was not even legal, he was sure.

Arthur sighed and shook his head. "Well, that's no good." He let out a "tsk" sound, and his tail made an odd little twirling motion. "I'm afraid that isn't going to be happening. See… regardless of what I do with you, I certainly can't just let you go. I mean… you don't hear about my species every day, do you?"

Slowly, Yao shook his head. "I've never seen anything like you before." he breathed out, throat dry.

"Exactly. There aren't many of us in the world, and we spend our entire life making sure we remain undiscovered. I am one hundred and twenty-three now and have never yet been seen by anyone who has, ah… lived to tell the tale." He smirked, and his eyes seemed to turn… reptillian, for lack of a better term. Yao felt close to sobbing due to pure fear that was coursing through him. He was going to die, he thought.

"Th- This isn't fair," Yao stammered out, words shaky. He kept his eyes on the ground, unable to force himself to look up at the creature. "I mean, I didn't… I didn't do anything to deserve this! You just… you just grabbed me and I had no control over it or anything, aru!"

Arthur sighed and leaned down, patting Yao on the head. He shivered - Arthur's hands were terribly cold. "Now, don't look upset, er… I'm sorry, what was your name?" He tilted his head, staring curiously at the human.

For a moment, Yao was silent. Should he answer? He certainly did not want this thing knowing his name, but he could hardly find a way of refusing. He could always make something up… But no, that would be pointless. "I'm Yao Wang," he answered softly.

"Yao Wang…" Arthur repeated the words, his tongue flicking out briefly once more, as if trying to taste it. "A fine name." He gave a nod of approval.

"Th- Thank you…" Yao squeaked, unsure of how to properly reply to this. Maybe this was all a dream, he told himself hopefully. This could not really be happening… right? Clearing his throat and deciding he had to get himself together a bit if he was to make it out alive, he now said, "So what's going to happen to me?"

Arthur laughed. "You're awfully keen on figuring that out, hm? Although I suppose I can't blame you." Yao watched nervously as the long, green tail moved closer to him, coiling itself around him, gripping to him. "Normally I would eat you," he admitted, causing Yao to let out a weak sob. "But I'm not sure, so don't get yourself so worked up…" He let out a thoughtful him.

Shaking uncontrollably, Yao shoved at Arthur's tail, trying to get away from it. Due to being stuck against the wall like he was, this proved to be nearly impossible. "Pl- Please don't eat me, aru." he ended up pleading, realizing there was not much more he could do. "I'll do anything else bu- but I don't want to die…"

Arthur's tongue left his mouth again, seemingly licking at the air, and he hummed. Yao stared, desperate for an answer. And, finally, he sighed and said, "Tell me a bit about yourself, Mister Wang." His tone was polite and mildly curious, and Yao found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

"Ah… er… Well, I'm a junior in high school. I was born in China but moved to the US right before I started third grade. I, um…" Yao swallowed, trying to figure out what else to say. "I love science and I'm, ah… in biology and physics right now. I plan to be a scientist once I'm an adult." That seemed like nothing but a dream now. If what Arthur had said was true he would not live long enough to even graduate high school. The thought made his eyes water and he sniffled weakly.

Arthur's tail seemed to tighten its grip on Yao, and the human whimpered. When the snake man spoke, his words were thoughtful. "You're smart, then. I can't remember the last time I dealt with a smart human." He rolled his eyes, and Yao shifted nervously. "You could actually benefit me in more ways than just filling my stomach…" He chuckled, a smile on his lips. He had fangs, Yao noticed, shuddering, trying desperately not to imagine such fangs sinking into his skin…

"So what… what are you going to do, then?" Yao asked now. Arthur did not seem intent on eating him, which was a relief, but he knew he was far from out of trouble yet.

Now, Arthur's tail's grip tightened, and he pulled the human forward, away from the wall, until they were practically touching. Yao was shaking again, staring up at the creature. "I can't be seen by humans. I can't go out and just look for humans to eat, because I can't risk being caught. I end up having to eat rodents and birds to survive, and it's disgusting. But you…" His eyes lit up, and his tongue briefly left his mouth, "you can. You can go anywhere, and no one would give you a second glance. You could hunt without anyone ever suspecting a thing."

Yao thought over these words, mind racing and heart pounding, unable to properly think. "H- Hunt?" he repeated quietly. Slowly, he processed what this meant, and his face went pale. "N- No! No way! I'm not hunting for you! I'm not bringing you people to… to…" He shuddered at the thought.

Arthur smirked and gave Yao's body a squeeze, causing him to squeak with fear. He leaned forward, and a hand moving to touch Yao's cheek. The long nail of his forefinger moved up near his eye in a threatening manner. "My species is not hesitant. We don't feel regret. We are not merciful to our victims." He leaned closer, his nose practically touching Yao's. The human could smell the metallic scent of blood on the creature's breath. "And I can assure you, devouring you would not be a painless matter."

Breath picking up, Yao shook his head slowly. "D- Don't." he all but begged, chewing on his lower lip and trying to keep control of himself.

"Then accept my offer." Arthur replied, nail dragging down Yao's face now, lightly scratching him. Yao shivered and felt goosebumps erupt down his body. "We'll benefit from each other - I get food, and in return, you get to live." He smirked, and Yao closed his eyes altogether, thinking this over for a moment.

"…Alright," he said after a long bout of hesitation. "Alright, I will. What do… what do I have to do?"

Much to Yao's relief, Arthur uncoiled his tail and released him. He then went silent, pursing his lips thoughtfully. "You'll be staying here tonight." Yao opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. "And in the morning, I'll send you out to hunt. Whether you are successful or not, you will return that same day. This is your home now, understood?"

The words made Yao feel sick, and he did not respond. Instead he just sat there, wishing there was something he could do. He was certain he was not strong enough to fight Arthur, and trying to run would end badly… "Wh- What will I eat?" he asked after a moment. He could not eat people, after all.

Arthur smiled, pleased by this inquiry. "Good question! There are all sorts of edible plants in the forest, so I can teach you which ones are good to eat. I'll also help you catch small animals and teach you to cook over an open fire. Consider it a thank you for helping me get my own food, hm?"

"How long am I going to be here?" Yao asked now - Arthur's words seemed to imply that it would be a while…

Staring at Yao for a moment, Arthur chuckled. "Why, for the rest of your life, of course. We can't have you leaving and telling everyone about me, can we?" His tongue left his mouth yet again, and Yao felt tears brim from his eyes. So would he ever see his friend again? His family? He sniffled weakly and hugged himself. A sad hum left the British creature. "Don't cry! I'm going to take care of you, alright?"

That did not matter to Yao. He did not want Arthur to take care of him. He wanted to go home, and see his brothers and sisters. And he wanted to go to school and see Kiku and Feliciano and Professor Braginski… He was going to die here, alone, with… with Arthur. The thought made him want to sob. "Can I…" His throat was hoarse and his words came out weak. "Can I at least see my friends again? And… and say goodbye?" That was not too much to ask, right?

"Your friends… Are they nearby?"

The question momentarily filling Yao with hope, he nodded eagerly. "Yes! We're all camping together…" What would they think became of him? Kiku had probably seen Arthur… But no one would believe him if he told them of Arthur's appearance, he was sure. Besides, he would surely be labeled dead… mauled to death by a wild snake man.

Arthur let out a hum. "How many? How long are they staying?"

Well, that was a surprise. Yao had not expected to be asked any questions pertaining to his group, and suddenly a bit of nervousness filled the pit of his stomach. "Ah… they're leaving after lunch tomorrow… There's about twenty of us, I think." Wanting to direct the conversation back to its original purpose, he added, "But there are only two or three people I'd want to actually say goodbye to. It wouldn't take much time and I'm sure I could come up with an explanation for leaving without giving away your existence, aru."

"Hm…" Arthur hummed thoughtfully again, tail curling. "So there's a group of twenty teenagers all camped out right near here?" He grinned maliciously, and Yao paled, suddenly terrified for his friends and classmates. "Who all know and trust you?"

Yao shook his head desperately. "I didn't mean- I just wanted- Please don't-"

The Brit interrupted with a cruel laugh. "You'll get to see your friends again, Yao, I promise. But in return, you have to bring me back a meal." He licked his lips with that long, serpentine tongue. "You can do that, right?"

Breathing shallow and body trembling once more, Yao shook his head. "I- I can't! You can't eat my friends!" He could lure someone else… Anyone else… But not his classmates!

"Then I'll eat you." Arthur rolled his eyes. "We went over this already, Yao. It's them or you. Make up your mind." Not waiting for Yao to answer, he slithered to the front of the cave. Yao watched with confusion, unable to reply properly even if he had something to say. "The drugs will keep you from being able to escape, so, ah… I guess I'll go out and get you some food!"

Yao blinked. "Drugs?" Was he drugged? Had Arthur drugged him?! He swallowed weakly. "When will you be back?" He did not want to be stuck in a cave with Arthur… but he certainly did not want to be stuck in a cave totally alone, either.

Shrugging, Arthur replied with, "Soon. When I have more time I'll go out and get you better food, but for now I'll just run out and grab some basic supplies. Sound good?"

"I guess so…" Yao was unsure of how he was supposed to reply to this at all. But he knew one thing for sure - his head was aching and his body was sore and he most certainly would not be able to escape. He would be stuck here alone until the snake man returned.

XXX

"So… a snake person?"

Kiku looked over to Feliks, who lay on his side, eyes skimming over the book he had brought with him. Dark brown eyes met a bright green as he glanced up to stare at Kiku, waiting expectantly for an answer. Slowly, the Japanese boy asked, "You believe me?"

With a sigh, Feliks rolled onto his back, turning his head to stare at Kiku curiously. "I don't see why not," he admitted. "Like… It's weird enough Yao's gone. Making the culprit a snake guy doesn't make it any weirder." An odd laugh left him, and Kiku detected a hint of worry in it. Feliks was scared.

"I guess that's true." Kiku hummed and finished buttoning his pajama shirt, sitting down on his sleeping bag and staring at the other. "I'm worried, though…"

"You have a right to be," Feliks murmured. "I'd be totally worried too! It's nothing to be ashamed of!" He chuckled and rolled onto his side once more, facing Kiku. "So what did the creature look like, then?" His words suddenly filled with the same mischievous, excitable tone a child would use when asking an adult what a bad word meant and knowing perfectly well that it was a bad word.

Kiku thought for a moment. "I didn't get a good look at it," he replied after a second. "I mean… it sort of… jumped out of nowhere. But it had blonde hair and green eyes, and he was a human until around his waist, where he suddenly was… a snake. A big green snake." Panic started to fill the pit of his stomach. What would it even do to Yao?! Eat him?!

Thinking for a moment, Feliks shook his head. "Never heard of anything like it… Hope your friend's, like… alive, though."

Kiku swallowed. "Me too…"

XXX

Arthur returned that night with a hand full of odd berries and leaves of some sort. Yao was starting to regain control of himself, his headache diminishing and his limbs starting to move easier. "You better appreciate this," the snake man muttered, half joking, as he slithered into his cave to meet his captive. "I had to deal with a bloody imbecile to get ahold of it…"

For a moment Yao wondered what this meant. Arthur had said that he did not interact with humans… Oh God, did that mean there were more of his kind?! He did not even want to think about that… "So what… what is it, then?" He stared at the items in Arthur's hand.

"These," he held up a small cluster of deep red berries that were just a bit smaller than grapes, "are neurellia. They're from a special plant that humans have yet to discover due to our kind being very careful to keep them hidden." He handed the cluster to Yao, who nervously accepted it. "They have many qualities, including the ability to slow down the body's need for food. You can practically live on them."

Yao frowned, eyeing the berries, very distrustful. "What else?"

"Hm?"

"You said they have many qualities, aru." Yao explained, plucking a single berry from the cluster and squeezing it experimentally. "What else do they do?"

Arthur chuckled. "Nothing that's of any worry to you." Yao did not like this answer one bit. What if they had some terrible side effect that Arthur was purposely keeping from him?! However, before he could argue the snake man ordered, "Now, unless you want to starve to death, I suggest you eat the neurellia."

Slowly, Yao nodded and placed the berry in his mouth. He sunk his teeth into it, tasting the juice that came from it, and was instantly shocked by the sweetness of it. Nervously chewing the berry and swallowing, a very worried feeling filled his stomach. He instantly wanted more… Surely these berries had some addictive quality to them…

"Like them?" Arthur asked with a grin. Yao said nothing. "Obviously you won't be living off of these, but they will make up a rather large portion of your diet, so I suggest you get used to consuming them."

Yao nodded again and after a moment's hesitation tried another. It was the same as before - shockingly, wonderfully sweet and juicy to the point that it felt almost as if he had just taken a sip of some sort of liquid rather than simply bite into a berry. In spite of himself he let out a soft hum of satisfaction, and ate another. "They're really good," he murmured.

Chuckling, Arthur nodded. "Good. I'm glad." He placed on the ground beside Yao a small handful of light green leaves. "These will also help sustain you. I'm afraid they don't taste nearly as good as neurellia, but they're healthy."

Yao let out another hum, this one of acknowledgement, and finished the rest of the berries before picking up one of the leaves and nibbling on it. Arthur was right, it did not taste very good at all. He was vaguely reminded of stale bread. Still, he ate what was put in front of him, happy to have something in his stomach. Besides, with the taste of the berries still seemingly coating his taste buds, he found it more than easy enough to consume.

When all was eaten, Yao lay back against the cave wall, watching Arthur with a sort of sleepy curiosity. It was the first time he had really studied him, he realized, having been much too terrified earlier to properly process him at all. Now that he looked at him… he was quite beautiful. His scales were shining and seemed to glisten despite the lack of light, the only thing a more brilliant hue of green being his eyes. He moved almost gracefully, the long, scaled portion of his body sliding easily over the ground. It was mesmerizing, actually…

"You seem sleepy," said the Brit's voice, although Yao momentarily could not figure out where it had come from. He blinked bleary eyes and soon his gaze landed back on the snake man's face. "It's been a very long day for you, hasn't it?" Yao was surprised by the fact that there seemed to be genuine concern and caring in his tone. "And tomorrow will likely be just as long. Yes, I suggest we both get some rest."

Yao sighed. Why was he suddenly so sleepy? The berries? He would not be surprised, he thought, briefly remember his earlier suspicions. However, this was quickly forgotten as his mind wandered back to how very good they had tasted… And how very pretty Arthur was… And how very tired he was…

He was only vaguely aware of a tail wrapping around him, squeezing him gently and pulling him closer to its owner. "Sleep, okay?" Arthur murmured, laying down on his stomach, his tail curling into his side, keeping Yao close. For a moment Yao shifted uncomfortably, not sure he liked such closeness at all. Arthur's scales were cold and rough against his skin, and he could not move nearly as much as he would want to in order to feel comfortable…

"Let go of me," Yao murmured, tone almost whiny. Arthur let out a hum and loosened his grip on the human, but certainly did not let him go. Yao sighed, knowing he would probably be stuck like this all night.

"Good night," the words came out quiet and sleepy, and Yao watched as Arthur shifted slightly to use his arm as a makeshift pillow. He wondered if the snake man was ever uncomfortable, sleeping out here on the ground like this…

Oh well, that was of little importance to him now. He was tired, and he really did have a long day ahead of him tomorrow, regardless of what he ended up doing. After all, it would be his first day living with this creature. Why was he so okay with that? he wondered. Perhaps he was just too tired to properly feel emotion. With a sleepy hum Yao snuggled against Arthur's tail, giving into the slightly uncomfortable feeling for the sake of getting some rest. It was not all that bad, he decided, at least liking the closeness of another being.

"G'night, Arthur…"


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N Also, idk if anyone would care enough to, but I… don't mind letting someoneelse finish this, if they were interested…? Idk. Enjoy, though! uvu_

**Part 2**

The first thing Yao wondered when he woke up was if it had all been a dream. As he opened his eyes, there was a short moment where he was certain that he would be at home in bed, or in the tent with Feliciano. But no, as his senses slowly returned to him, he became extremely aware of the fact that he was lying on the ground. He was pressed up against something, his head resting on it. It was rather cold, he noticed, and scaly…

He was cuddling with Arthur.

The moment Yao process this, he sat up, looking around. He had not really been cuddling, now that he thought over it more. Well, not with him. His tail, yes. Speaking of which, Arthur was no longer coiled around him, which meant…

Should he try to escape?

He could try…

Yao swallowed, staring at the exit of the cave. What would happen if he did? Would Arthur go after him? What was the worst Arthur could do, especially if he made it back to the campgrounds? After all, he had made it clear that he did not want other people seeing him. Yes, he was going to try, he thought, very nervously crawling away from the still-sleeping snake. Once he felt he was far enough away, he got onto two legs and started to tiptoe out of the cave, heart pounding against his chest so hard that he was half worried that Arthur would hear it.

He slowly made it to the front of the cave, where he let out a soft sigh of relief as he exited. He was free! Sunlight hit his face and he nearly cried out with relief. Glancing back to the cave once more, Yao turned and tried to run. His legs felt like lead and he found that, perhaps due to the drugs from yesterday still working through his system, he would have to walk instead.

It was not long, however, that, much to Yao's absolute terror, a loud cry of, "Hey, you! Human!" could be heard from the bushes. Yao shrieked and jumped back, eyes on the tall brush, from which appeared a stranger that sent shivers down Yao's spine.

Another snake man, he realized, this one also with blond hair. However, it was longer, and better-kept, and his eyes were a brilliant blue - just a bit brighter than the long, scaly tail that trailed behind him. He stared at Yao with uncertainty, and when he spoke he had a thick French accent. "You belong to Arthur, don't you?"

Yao swallowed, starring with terror at the stranger. "Yes," No! He immediately, mentally corrected himself, his face going a bright red. No, he did not belong to Arthur. Where that that come from?! "No, I don't," he breathed, having a feeling it was too late now to try to fix that.

"Really?" the creature did not seem to believe it. He slithered forward, circling Yao, studying him. His tongue, which Yao noticed was just as long as Arthur's, occasionally flicked out of his mouth. "But Arthur mentioned having a human… He said that he was young and Asian with long brown hair and pretty golden eyes. You fit that description well, oui?" Yao did not reply, unsure of if this was rhetorical or not. "Besides, his scent is all over you. And you're not very far from his cave…"

He was dead, Yao thought. This creature was going to bring him back to Arthur, and he was going to be eaten. Trembling, Yao took a step back. "D- Don't tell him. Please don't tell him, aru." he begged the stranger. "He… he said he would eat me! And my friends! Please, I just want to go home."

The snake man stuck his tongue out again, before shaking his head. "I'm afraid I can't do that. Arthur's already begun imprinting… taking you back home could be dangerous."

"Imprinting?" Yao repeated the word, confused and scared and not at all liking the sound of it. He felt his desperation slip into despair and he realized the true depth of the situation. He had tried to escape, and now was being returned by another of Arthur's kind. Arthur was surely going to kill him now.

With a sigh, the stranger said, "I suppose you should go back to Arthur's." He grabbed hold of Yao's wrist and nodded towards the direction of the cave. With a soft whimper Yao allowed himself to be led back to Arthur's home, the feeling of impending doom and dread deep within the pit of his stomach. His mind raced and he wondered if this really was the end, if he was really going to die….

As they approached the cave, the snake man stopped and beat his tail against the ground a few times. For a moment Yao wondered what this was supposed to mean, but the answer became clear as Arthur awoke. He looked around sleepily, seemingly rather confused, before turning to the front of the cave. His eyebrows rose and for a moment he seemed too surprised to do anything, before slowly slithering forward.

"Arthur! Does this human happen to belong to you?" the snake man asked, holding Yao's wrist up a bit and nodding to him. "I caught him out near my garden this morning." Garden? Yao thought over the word. Did Arthur have a garden too? Or just this one? What sort of things did he grow?

Arthur chuckled, and the sound sent shivers down Yao's spine. It was an icy, malicious sort of chuckle that was filled with undertones that the human never wanted to dwell on. "Francis! How nice to see you! Yes, ah… he does belong to me, actually." He turned to Yao, and the polite, conversational tone he used only made the poor boy more terrified. "Funny, I don't remember giving you permission to leave…"

Swallowing hard, Yao did not respond at first. Howeber, he realized after a moment that he had no real choice, and with a soft whimper he swallowed his pride and, for the sake of his life, breathed out the words, "I'm sorry, Arthur,"

Arthur smiled kindly, but did not reply. Instead, he turned back to Francis. "Thank you very much for returning him to me." His tone was almost… robotic, Yao thought. This was a game to him - he knew how terrifying the bitter, forced politeness in his tone was, and thus was more keen on using it than ever. "Now, if you'd leave us alone for a bit, I'm going to need to have a word with him."

A cruel chuckle left Francis and he nodded, letting go of Yao. "Alright. I'll see you later, oui, mon ami? I know you mentioned wanting to pick up a full bushel of neurellia this evening."

"I may even need more than that," Arthur replied dryly, wetting his lower lip with that long tongue of his. He watched as Francis turned and slithered away. "But yes, I'll go pick that up tonight. Until then!" He waved the other off before turning on Yao, eyes narrowed, a malicious smile on his face. "What exactly were you planning to do, Yao?"

Yao did not respond for a moment, terror seemingly seeping through every pore of his body. He shook almost violently, terrified for his life. "I just… I… I…" He found it hard to form coherent words, his throat and lungs seeming to close up everytime he opened his mouth. "I don't know, aru!" he finally managed out, tears falling from his eyes. He sat down at the cave's entrance and hugged his knees tightly, burying his face into them and letting them grow damp with tears.

A soft sigh left the Brit, and Yao suddenly felt his hand on his head, petting him in a comforting manner. "Don't cry," he ordered, surprisingly soft, yet filled with a sort of malice that was absolutely terrifying. "Come with me, please."

Slowly, Yao did as told, getting up and following Arthur deep into the cave. As he sniffled softly, he wondered how deep it went. Was it a tunnel, maybe? Did it lead somewhere? Or was there some sort of dead end? Why had Arthur chosen to be so near the front? "What are you going to do to me?" he asked softly, bringing his hand to his face and wiping the tears that were beginning to dry there.

Arthur hummed. "I understand that it was just a mistake, Yao. After all, you are under lots of stress right now, and your body is still getting used to the adjustments I've made." Yao had absolutely no idea what this meant, but he did not like the sound of it. "But you must not do it again. So I'm afraid a punishment is in order of some type…" There was obviously hesitation in his voice, and Yao was not sure if this should be relieving or even more horrifying.

"I… I won't do it again," Yao promised, hoping he was saying the right thing. "Please, I promise I won't." He swallowed thickly, feeling more tears form in his eyes but trying desperately to fight them back. Maybe he could manipulate that hesitation, he thought hopefully, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"I'm inclined to believe you," Arthur replied. "Although you've already proven yourself untrustworthy, so I'm afraid that would be foolish of me." He glanced back to Yao with a smirk. "I'm no idiot."

Yao clenched his hands into fists, his nails digging into his palms in hopes of distracting himself from the fear that was currently flowing through every fiber of his being. At least Arthur did not sound like he planned on killing him, he thought, trying to put a positive spin on things.

Finally, Arthur stopped, and Yao watched curiously and he slithered to the corner and picked up what he noticed were small, raisin-like objects. Dried fruit of some type. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what exactly they had to do with a punishment. He stared at them for a moment, tongue leaving his mouth for a brief period of time, before setting them back down and turning back to Yao. "I don't want to do anything drastic," he admitted. "I want you in good health, because I need you."

Yao swallowed hard again. It was not a good reason to be kept healthy, but he was grateful for having a reason at all. "S- So what happens, then?" he asked quietly.

"My tail works, I suppose," was his vague answer. He made a beckoning motion with his hand, a cruel smile forming on his face, his fangs visible. Yao trembled a bit once more as he walked forward, until he was about a foot away from the snake man. With a nod Arthur raised his tail up, turning so as to let the long, green tail face the human.

It became apparent what he was about to do, and Yao paled a bit. "W- Wait!" he cried, moving to take a step back. However, Arthur either did not hear these words in time or paid no heed to them, for with a flash of fangs that Yao noticed was a smirk he threw his tail at the human, striking him hard against the side.

Yao let out a cry, pain residing there immediately. "D- Don't do that again!" His words were a mix between a beg and an order, shocked and a bit indignated that the snake man would do such a thing.

Again, Yao's words were ignored, and this time Arthur's tail hit him so hard that he was certain it must hurt him, too. The force knocked him over, which (despite the bruises and scratches this caused) he was more than fine with, seeing as it would definitely make beating him harder. "I'm sorry, aru!" he snapped. "I won't do it again!"

"But is that true?" Arthur asked, his eyes gleaming in a way Yao had not seen before. He no longer looked human, he thought, terrified. His eyes were… reptilian. He was an animal, Yao thought suddenly, staring up at the creature. Despite his appearance, despite the way he had acted thus far, he was forever an animal.

Tears were in his eyes now, Yao noticed, and his side ached terribly. He was going to get a bruise there, he could already tell. "I promise I won't," he breathed out, not wanting to be hit again. "I promise. It was a mistake and it won't happen again." He closed his eyes, waiting for another blow, but instead he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Good." Arthur answered, tone soft, the malice out of his voice now. "Very good. Now, sit up, okay? I'm not going to hurt you anymore." Yao did as told, sitting upright, wincing at the pain in his side. He had broken a rib or something, he thought, tenderly rubbing the injured area. Arthur slithered back over to the dried berries, which he held out to Yao. "I want you to eat these. They'll make you feel better and should help the situation a bit. Although I do know that they don't taste nearly as good as they do fresh…"

Yao nervously accepted the dried fruit, staring at them, before his eyebrows rose. "Th- These are the same types of berries I ate last night…" he noted. "Wh- Why these again?"

Arthur smiled. "I suppose you could say they're, ah… very special to our culture."

Although Yao was not particularly happy with this reply, he decided to go with it for now. Sniffing softly, he placed one of the berries in his mouth. It was almost as sweet as before, he thought, although the texture was different now. It was now nearly as juicy, which was a shame. But he supposed it could not be helped, seeing as they were dried… "They taste good," he admitted after a moment.

With a nod, Arthur said, "That's good." He paused for a moment, watching Yao eat, before sighing and saying, "Now, Yao, I'm going to be letting you out today. You are going to go back to your friends, and, like you requested, you're going to say goodbye. But in return, you're going to bring me back a snack. I don't care who they are, do you understand?"

Yao felt dread fill his stomach, but he did not argue out of fear of being beaten again. "Yes…" he murmured as he ate another one of the dried berries.

"And you are not going to escape." Arthur said, his voice slowing down, becoming low and commanding and a bit threatening. "You are not even going to consider running away. Because you belong with me now, right?"

Swallowing, Yao stared at Arthur for a moment, before quietly answering, "R- Right," Oh, he hated the sound of that. He didn't want to belong to Arthur! The thought made his stomach twist. Then, for reasons he was unsure of, he asked, "But… what would you do? If… if I did escape, I mean."

Arthur smiled at that, looking as though he'd expected that question. "Eat another berry," he ordered gently, watching as Yao did as told before continuing on with, "You will not try to escape. You just won't. And I can assure you that if worst comes to worst, I can always go after you myself. And you will not get away with just a few tail thrashes this time."

Shivering, Yao nodded and swallowed the dry fruit. "Okay," he breathed out, wetting his lower lip. He was scared of Arthur. He always had been, but he was more scared than ever now that he had come to that startling realization - Arthur was much more animal than human. However, his fear of Arthur was absolutely nothing compared to his fear of what was to come. He was going to have to being Arthur one of his classmates… to eat.

"Good boy," Arthur hummed with satisfaction, and Yao felt heat rise in his cheeks. He did not like being referred to like that at all. "The neurellia should hold you over until lunchtime, so if you get going now hunger shouldn't be a problem. While you're out, I'll go out and do some hunting for you. You need meat."

Yao swallowed and stood up. "Alright," This wasn't all bad, he told himself. After all, he would get a chance to see Kiku again. He would be able to say goodbye. What exactly would he tell him?! And who in the world could he possibly bring to Arthur?!

With a smile, Arthur said, "Well, get going! And don't worry about getting back. You'll find your way, I promise." How in the world could he be so sure of that? Yao wondered.

There was no point in arguing, Yao figured. After all, he did not want to be hit again. He nervously began to walk towards the front of the cave, wincing a bit with each step. His side was sore and he ached slightly from his "punishment". Arthur seemed to take note of this, for he chuckled and said, "You seem to be in a bit of pain. Are you alright?"

"Fine," Yao grumbled, casting an irritated look at Arthur. Who did he think he was, asking such polite questions after beating him?! He huffed. "Well, I suppose I'll head out now." It occurred to Yao that he had not eaten much this morning, and had no idea of how to return to the campsite, and did not even begin to have a plan of how to lure anyone back… He would have to trust Arthur, he supposed, the idea of putting "Arthur" and "trust" in the same sentence making it sound like an oxymoron.

This thought did nothing to cure his nerves.

"Oh, ah, by the way," Arthur called, slithering forward as Yao made his way to the front of the cave. "I suppose I should apologize for being a bit deceitful last night. Those leaves you ate cause drowsiness." He chuckled sheepishly. "I just thought you would need a bit of help sleeping. You had been through quite a bit, after all."

Yao rolled his eyes. That explained the sudden sleepiness, then. Still, part of him was grateful. He could not imagine how hard it would have been to get any rest on his own, considering the circumstance. "It's alright." he ended up muttering, not liking the conflicting emotions.

Soon they made it to the front of the cave, where Arthur stopped. "Well, good luck!" he said, a reassuring smile on his face. "I'll be waiting here when you get back."

Against his better judgement, Yao smiled slightly. "Okay," he replied, nervousness brimming from his words. "I'll, ah, see you later, Arthur…" With a nod, the human turned and walked out of the cave.

XXX

Upon waking up that morning, Kiku had eagerly run out of his tent, looking around desperately for any signs of Yao. Upon finding Professor Braginski and discovering that his friend was still missing, pure panic had filled him. Feliks was told to restrain him and keep a very careful watch on him, for their professor was worried he would try to run off in search of Yao.

A very light breakfast was eaten, before Professor Braginski told the class to go back to their tents and get ready for the hike they would be taking. Kiku spent the time he should have been preparing doing nothing but worrying. Yao was gone… The fact was finally starting to sink in, and it was horrifying. Yao had been kidnapped.

Feliks finished putting on his jeans, which were extremely tight and skinny and, judging by the looks of them, should have been much too pricey to wear on a hike. He then turned to Kiku and gave him a nervous, perhaps a bit saddened look. "Don't worry, alright?" Kiku did not respond. The awkwardness seemed a bit too much for him, for he added shortly after, "I'm going to use the little boys' room… Be right back!" With an obviously forced chuckle he walked out.

For a moment Kiku sat there, unable to figure out what to do with himself. His mind was racing and his body was stiff and he could hardly even process anything. And then, there was an odd beating against the back of the tent, as though something - or someone - were hitting it. Kiku jumped. "Hello?!"

The beating resounded through the tent again. Kiku swallowed, growing perhaps irrationally scared. "F- Feliks? Is that you?" He gathered the courage to turn, and noticed the silhouette of a person on the outside of his tent. "Who… who's out there?!"

"Kiku! Kiku, it's me!"

Kiku froze. He recognized that voice, but he could hardly even begin to believe it. Still, despite that he felt relief and joy flood through him. "Yao? Is that you?" He crawled to the front of the tent, going to open it.

The voice called out, voice very soft as though worried it would be overheard by others, "Yes, it is. C- Come out here, I need to talk to you."

Eagerly doing as told, the younger boy unzipped the tent and stepped out of it before all but running to the other side. Sure enough, there was Yao. Kiku felt near tears, completely and utterly relieved to see his best friend. He ran up to him. "Yao!" he cried, causing the other to flinch a bit. "What are yo-"

Yao cut him off, a hand moving to cover Kiku's mouth. He looked around nervously. "Come with me, we need to talk in private, aru." he explained, words soft, as he nodded towards the trees. "Let's go somewhere more secluded."

Kiku did not understand. But then again, there had been a lot that he had not understood recently. Slowly, he nodded, and allowed Yao to lead him into the trees, deep enough that if one were to look directly where they were from the campground, they would be only see the faintest outline of people. Once there, Yao took a deep breath before saying, "I don't think I'm ever going to see you again."

"Wh- What?!" Kiku could not even process such an idea for a moment, and he simply stood, staring at his friend. Then, slowly, he asked, "But… why? Where did you go, Yao? What happened?"

Yao shook his head. "I can't explain. But you have to trust me, alright?" In spite of himself, he felt tears form in his eyes. He sniffed, trying to keep control of his emotions. "I just… I need to go away and do something, okay? I don't know when I'll be back. P- Probably never. But for your own safety you cannot ever come looking for me, aru."

"Did that thing have something to do with this?!" Kiku cried, thinking back to the snake creature that had attacked.

Paling a bit, Yao went silent. Then, clearing his throat, he answered, "N- No. It was a trick of the light. There was no snake man." his tone was totally flat, and he forced any expression that was on his face to leave. "Look, Kiku, you just have to trust me."

Kiku stared for a long time, seemingly summing up Yao's words. He would never see him again? Why?! He could not imagine it, going to school without Yao. Living without Yao… It felt like some terrible dream… "I… I can't just let this happen!" he insisted. "What will I tell your family? Professor Braginski? Feliciano and the others? Do I just say you disappeared?!"

Yao took a deep breath. He had been thinking over this for awhile now, actually. But now that he was here and actually supposed to say it… he could hardly even get the words out. "Tell them I'm going to kill myself." He watched with sadness as Kiku paled, eyes going wide with what could only be described as horror. "T- Tell my family I love them and that I've decided to take my own life, o- okay…?"

It could not be really happening. Kiku's mind was racing and his heart was beating. Nothing made sense anymore. He shook his head and took a step back, hands clenching into fists. "I can't… I can't say that, Yao. Please, you have to come back to the campsite… you have to…"

"I can't!" Yao all but screamed the words, causing Kiku to jump back. "This is hard for me, dammit! Stop… making it harder." He glared at the other, unsure of what emotion was bubbling in his stomach. He knew one thing, though - the tears that had been forming earlier were now running down his cheeks. He sniffled, staring at his friend, not liking the silence but also not wanting anything else to be said.

The silence lasted for a surprisingly long while. Then, slowly, Kiku nodded. "Fine." the words were surprisingly bitter, and Yao felt a worried frown form on his lips. "Fine, go off, then. I don't know what you're doing but I hope it pleases you." He kept his words quiet and bitter and filled with… Was that anger? Yao swallowed Kiku angry with him?!

"A- Alright then…" Yao was nearly sobbing. He looked down, staring at Kiku's feet. Funny, how he would not be interacting with anyone… with feet… after this… The thought did not make him feel any better at all.

It was then that, much to his surprise, he felt arms wrap around him and someone pulling him close. He looked up, a soft gasp leaving him. It was Kiku. But hadn't Kiku been angry with him? He swallowed, not responding for a moment, before sniffling softly and returning the hug. It was nice, he thought. All of Arthur's touches - which was a very small amount - were so very cold… Kiku was warm and comforting and Yao found himself all but clinging to him, his breathing rather shaky.

"I really am sorry, Kiku." Yao breathed, burying his nose into his friend's shoulder. "I know this is weird and confusing and I understand why you'd be upset but there really isn't another way."

Kiku sighed. "I don't know," he murmured, not particularly sure of what he was referring to. He gave Yao a week squeeze and sighed. "I… I should probably head back to camp." He wasn't sure he wanted to talk to Yao anymore, to be honest. He was too…. conflicted. He sighed again and let go of his friend, who took a nervous step back.

"Okay, aru. G- Goodbye!" He forced a smile, but tears continued to form in his eyes. Kiku smiled back and waved, before turning and exiting without another word. Yao remained alone for a long time, staring at the direction his friend had left, unsure of what to make of any of this. Then, footsteps beside him caused him to gasp and turn.

"Psst!" A boy probably around Kiku's age stood in the brush, bright green eyes fixated on Yao. His hair was long and blond and he held a mischievous grin on his face. "You totally lied to Kiku, didn't you?"

Yao frowned and took a step back, staring nervously at the newcomer. "You… you're in my class." he stated quietly, ignoring his accusation.

The boy nodded and stepped forward, smirking. "That's right! I'm Feliks. We haven't spoken much," He dipped his head in a rather sarcastic greeting. Suddenly, Yao's eyes went wide, and he quickly remembered the boy. He had been Kiku's tent mate… Worry filled the pit of his stomach.

"Look, I don't know how much of that conversation you heard, but you should really get out of here." Yao warned, a terrible idea filling his head. He remembered Arthur's orders and shivered, staring nervously at the strange boy. "Please, for your own safety you need to leave, aru."

Feliks laughed. "What's the real story?" he continued to press for information. "I'm not stupid and neither is Kiku. If he saw a snake man, then there was a snake man. So where is it now?" He sauntered forward, and Yao took another step back.

Swallowing, Yao's hands clenched into fists. Feliks was practically gift wrapping himself… But he couldn't do it! He hardly knew the boy, and now he was considering… killing him. Or, rather, taking him to be killed. "I didn't want Kiku to know," he lied. "Because I was ashamed of myself. See, I… I ended up killing it. And I felt bad." He sighed, looking down, trying to feign remorse.

Another laugh left the younger boy. "I knew it!"

"I could… I could show you the body, if you want." Yao's heart was beating rapidly. This was it - he was going to murder this boy. He could not believe it, and he definitely did not want to dwell on the idea. "It's not far from here…"

Feliks' eyes widened a bit. "Seriously? Lead the way!" He grinned, staring at Yao expectantly, who felt almost as though he were going to throw up. With a whimper he turned, facing the forest, and walking deeper into it, motioning for Feliks to follow. He could find his way back, he told himself. Arthur's home seemed… easy to find. Much too easy. There was no doubt in his mind, despite how very vast and thick the forest was, that he could get to his desired location.

The walk was in silence, although occasionally Feliks would ask a question or two. They went unanswered, however, for Yao found himself unable to correctly talk. He was shaking and filled to the brim with guilt, and half of him wanted to just turn and run right now. Turn, and run, and save Feliks and Kiku and everyone else…

But he couldn't. Yao was unsure of why, but he could not do such a thing. So instead he continued to walk through the forest, growing more and more anxious and nervous and terrified with each step. And, finally, as the cave finally came into view, all of his emotions seemed to spill over and he felt a sob leave him, not caring about the fact that Feliks was still there. "Th- The cave. In the cave." he breathed out, finding that one of the many emotions he was experiencing seeming to be relief. At least the worst of it was over, right?

Feliks gave Yao a confused look, but did not question anything. Rather, he hesitantly stepped forward, looking around the cave for a moment before entering. Yao walked forward and stopped at the front. Was Arthur in there somewhere? Remembering what Francis had done earlier, he nervously stomped his foot against the ground repeatedly. He did not have a tail, and the sound ended up being quieter than Francis had been, but it still echoed through the cave nicely, and he sighed with satisfaction as a soft slithering noise could be heard from deep in the cave.

Now Feliks seemed to be growing slightly nervous. He turned to give Yao a glance before swallowing and stepping back, but by now it seemed to be too late. From the shadows emerged a very familiar being, and Yao felt goosebumps rush through him. Feliks stared, shocked, eyes traveling from the approaching creature to Yao. "You lied," he breathed.

Yao nodded and closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry," he replied, voice hoarse. As the snake man drew closer, he grinned, his sharp fangs very visible.

"Yao, go outside and walk around to the right of the cave. Francis is nearby, he'll watch you while I take care of this." His tongue left his mouth for a moment, before he added, "You did an superb job, by the way."

Despite the many emotions that were swirling through him, Yao found that this compliment made a small smile form on his lips for a moment, and he nodded. Before Feliks or Arthur could say another word he turned and ran out of the cave, to the right. He soon found Francis, who lay lazily beneath a tree. "Bonjour!" he called with a wink, waving to the human. "How did it all go?"

Unsure of why he was so trusting of the creature (perhaps he was just exhausted, he thought to himself), Yao walked over and sat down beside him, leaning against him wearily. "Fine, I guess. Arthur got a snack and I got to say goodbye to my best friend," Francis was just as cold as Arthur. He supposed it was a snake thing, he thought with a groan.

Francis smiled. "Well that's good! You seem, ah… far from well, though. Are you okay?" Yao was not sure if the concern in the Frenchman's tone was sincere or not, but at this point he did not particularly care.

"I'm overwhelmed, aru." Yao answered quietly, shivering as he felt a hand run through his hair, playing with the long, dark strands. He opened his eyes to lazily stare at Francis. Francis was different than Arthur… He preferred Arthur, he decided, although he could not quite figure out why. "H- How long are they going to take, anyway?"

"Not long," Francis answered. "Although I suppose it depends on how long Arthur intends to wait before allowing you back into his cave. He'll be able to eat the human rather quickly but digestion is a long process and I'm unsure of if he'll want company during that time…" After a moment of thought, he added, "I'd give him a few hours at most."

A few hours? Yao groaned again. He did not want to wait for a few hours. He wanted Arthur to praise him on his job well done again and then he wanted to be fed and he wanted to rest. And although he could not find anything particularly wrong with Francis, he wanted very much to leave him now. "I miss Arthur…" he whined quietly.

Francis chuckled. "I know you do. But it's only for a short while. Do you want me to get you anything?" He smiled brightly and twirled a strand of Yao's hair between his fingers. "You're probably very hungry, oui?"

Yao shrugged. "Not really," he admitted. He was too shaky to want to eat. "Can I just sleep?" He hummed, ignoring his mildly bad feelings towards Francis and pressing against his shoulder, eyes closing. He felt the other's tail move behind him, acting almost like a pillow, which was much appreciated despite the cold scaliness of the appendage.

"Oui. Rest a bit and try to calm down, and when you wake up Arthur should be finished." Francis hummed happily, leaning back against the tree again.

There was a moment of silence in which Yao lay against Francis, eyes closed and brow furrowed a bit as he tried to sleep. He was restless, despite his exhaustion, and his mind would not stop racing. "Who are you, anyway? You said you have a garden? What does Arthur think of you, aru?" He was determined to figure out his dislike for Francis.

Francis chuckled at these questions. "I don't know," he answered, although Yao easily detected a hint of dishonesty in his tone. "He relies on me, like all of us, for most of his herbs and plants and flora in general. So he doesn't hate me. But we are not exactly on the best of terms." He then chuckled again and gave Yao a squeeze, which caused him to squeak softly. "Obviously he trusts me enough to put me in charge of watching you, though. It's quite an honor, really."

Yao pursed his lips. "You're a gardener?"

"Oui. Ever since Antonio, er… went away, I've taken over the job. He had a flourishing, beautiful garden and it took all of my effort just to keep it in the shape it was. It's not as big as it used to be but it supplies what we need." Francis hummed almost sadly and went back to playing with Yao's hair. "I'm sure Arthur will elaborate further once you're further modified."

Yao was too tired to fully grasp how very odd these words were, and instead he blinked sleepily and frowned. "Modified?" he repeated, not sounding as interested in an explanation as he was interested in sleep.

Francis grinned with amusement, but Yao did not catch it, for he had closed his eyes. "Arthur will elaborate on that, too. Give it time." He squeezed Yao again, and earned another soft squeak from the human. "But for now, just try to rest a bit. You've already done a lot today!"

More than happy to oblige, Yao felt his eyelids grow heavy. He sighed, and soon his thoughts of Kiku and murdering and modification left him and he fell into a deep sleep.

XXX

Matthew was a quiet boy with bright eyes behind glasses and rather long, dark blond hair. He had graduated college not long ago, and despite the fact that that left him at around twenty-four, he looked no older than eighteen. He spoke softly and politely and carried with him a stuffed polar bear. However, despite his rather silly qualities, he was very intelligent when it came to the forest and its habitats.

He lead the class through a long trail up the side of a mountain, occasionally stopping to mention something or other, be it a certain plant or bug or the way a blade of grass seemed to sprout awkwardly. Some of the class found it fascinating, but a rather large portion seemed to grow bored quickly and eventually ignored him.

This did nothing to stop him from talking.

About halfway up the trail, Matthew stopped again, his eyes wandering to the ground. "Ooh, look!" he cried softly, pointing to something in the taller grass by the side of the path. A few kids groaned with irritation, seemingly wanting to just get to their destination and turn around. However, he ignored these sounds and knelt down, picking up a small black and white snake. "A kingsnake!" A blonde girl in the back shrieked and jumped back.

Kiku paled for reasons he was unsure of and took a step back. Professor Braginski, who had been keeping an eye on the Japanese boy ever since he had run over to him earlier sobbing and going on and on about apparently seeing Yao in the forest and discovering that he planned to take his own life, frowned. "Are you alright?" he asked. Plus Feliks was nowhere to be found, which only made the teacher more nervous about what was happening and in what way Kiku was involved.

Kiku turned to stare at him. "Y- Yes," he answered stiffly after a moment, unsure of what had brought on the sudden nervousness to begin with. It was just a snake, after all.

Speaking of snake, Matthew was more than entranced with the long reptile. He spouted facts about it, looking more than delighted every time it coiled around his fingers or lunged at one of them threateningly. "Totally harmless," he explained with a laugh. "One of the only species of snake to devour its own kind. Also feeds off of rodents…" Kiku soon lost interest, much too shaken up for no apparent reason.

Suddenly, a hand shot up. "Ah, Mister Williams!" It was Feliciano, Kiku noticed. "I, um… I heard something about a type of creature. A snake-man, I think." Kiku stared with shock, unable to believe the other boy would ever bring up such a thing. He had heard of the creature from him, after all.

Much to the class' surprise (everyone was suddenly extremely interested), Matthew's eyes seemed to sparkle at that, and he turned back to the snake curiously. "You sound like my brother," he murmured with a chuckle. "He goes on about it sometimes. Tells me to be careful whenever I go hiking up here because of the 'snake people'. He talks about all sorts of fantastical worlds they live in. I don't believe a word of it, of course. It's all fantasy. Alfred's always been a bit odd."

Kiku was totally silent, hardly able to even breathe. He stared with shock, paler than ever. Before he was sure of what he was doing, he was raising his hand. Matthew turned to look at him politely, showing he acknowledged him. The Japanese boy swallowed thickly, "Can I, um… talk to you privately afterwards?" he asked weakly.

Smiling curiously, Matthew nodded. "Of course! Come see me at lunch, okay?"

"O- Okay,"

XXX

Yao was woken by Francis, who was shaking him gently. "Get up!" he called brightly, causing the human to let out a soft, inaudible murmur and blink sleepily, vision bleary with tiredness. "Arthur came out here just a moment ago. He told me to wake you and tell you to meet him in his cave."

Slowly, Yao processed these words, and he smiled slightly. Arthur was finally done! He was not sure why he was so excited, but he definitely was. Getting up, Yao dusted himself off and walked towards the cave, still very tired. Francis did not follow, but rather waved and called, "I'll be departing now! Thank you for the company." He laughed and slithered off, and Yao paid no heed to him.

Why was he so happy to see Arthur? Yao wondered as he approached the entrance of the cave, instinctively stopping to stomp his foot against the ground first. It seemed like some sort of greeting, and he certainly did not want to get in trouble for being impolite or something. "Arthur!" he then called, running into the cave. He found Arthur rather deep in, a smile on his face.

For a moment Yao hesitated. That was blood, he noticed, eyes immediately darting to Arthur's lips. There was blood… on Arthur's face. Feliks' blood. The thought made him shiver and feel slightly sick. The Brit, seeming to notice this, licked his lips with that long tongue of his and smiled. "Don't be afraid, Yao!" he called, extending a hand. "I won't hurt you, remember? We made a deal."

Unsure of what drove him to do it, perhaps just needing the contact after such an extremely exhausting day, Yao ran forward and wrapped his arms around Arthur, pulling him into an almost desperate hug. He remained like that for a moment, totally silent, face pressed against Arthur's cold shoulder. The Brit seemed momentarily surprised by this, staring curiously at the human, before hesitantly wrapping an arm around him.

Yao sighed, wishing Arthur were a bit warmer but other than that very pleased with having the contact. After a moment, however, a soft whimper left him and he asked quietly, "Wh- What happened to Feliks? Was it… painless?"

Sighing, Arthur nodded. "I would think so. His death was quick and he seemed too surprised to react properly so he didn't struggle much." He let out a soft gasp as Yao squeezed him, shaking slightly as he seemed close to crying once more.

"I'm a murderer…"

Arthur shook his head, his tail coiling around to wrap around Yao gently now. "Oh, hush. You did what you had to do to survive. Besides, I'm the murderer here. All you did was fulfill your side of the bargain." Yao sniffled and nodded slowly, and a smile formed on the snake man's face. "You did a wonderful job, Yao. You should feel proud of yourself."

Oh, he did, Yao realized. The complement caused butterflies to fill his stomach and he nodded again, finding himself desperate for more praise. However, he kept quiet, for the part of himself that he felt was still sane seemed to feel extremely guilty. Arthur continued to speak, his tone soft.

"You've done fabulously. And you'll only get better as you keep doing it!" Arthur grinned brightly and Yao once more felt himself grow extremely happy over these praises. "How did Francis treat you? I told him to watch over you while I dealt with that boy…"

Yao shrugged, continuing to cling to the Brit. "I dunno. He was fine, aru." Feeling his cheeks redden just a bit, he added, "I prefer you to him, though." Why? Francis definitely seemed nicer, and had done absolutely nothing to make him dislike him. If anything, he should appreciate the Frenchman a lot… But he didn't. He appreciated Arthur.

Beaming at this, Arthur gave Yao a squeeze with both his arms and his tail. "Good. He's not a bad creature, though. Just a bit annoying. You won't mind staying with him like that on some occasions, right?"

"I guess not…" Yao thought for a moment, before asking, his voice muffled slightly as he was pressed against Arthur's shoulder, "Can't I stay with you, though?" He could look away or something when it actually came to killing the Brit's victims, he told himself.

Arthur seemed mildly surprised by this request. "M- Maybe eventually…" he agreed nervously. "I don't want to ah… scare you, though." This was the absolute truth. Yao would not be able to watch another human be killed, he was sure of it. And even if he did promise to turn away, the sound of it would be traumatizing enough. He could not risk mentally scarring his new human.

Yao whined softly but did not argue. It would be scary, really, and for just that reason alone he was alright with staying with Francis. Still, he did not particularly like it. Wanting a change in subject, Yao pulled away so that he could face Arthur and asked, "When am I going to, uh… do that again? And, um… how?" His class would not be staying forever, after all.

For a moment Arthur did not reply, thinking this over. "There's a hiking trail nearby where you'll be able to pick up many travelers, I'm sure. As for when, um… we take nearly a week to digest food, so I should be fine for a bit." He chuckled softly. "Try to prepare yourself and get a plan together in the meantime, alright?"

Yao nodded. "Alright," he agreed, sitting down in front of the snake man and staring at him curiously. Now what? The day was far from over and he had already been through so much… But he definitely did not want to spend the rest of the evening bored out of his mind. What was there to do out here, in the forest? "What, um… should we do now?" He was vaguely aware of his use of the word we.

"I'm not sure!" Arthur responded brightly. "I'm afraid I'll be a bit slow tonight, still in the first few stages of digestion." He chuckled. "But by no means does that stop us from finding something fun to do." He went silent, thinking over their options. He had plenty of things he wanted to show Yao, but he supposed it was best to start with the basics. "What if I took you to the Springs?" A good place for relaxation, and a very important location for Yao to know about.

"The Springs?"

"A natural hot springs about a quarter of a mile from here. It's protected by magic so humans can't find it without a guide, just like Francis' garden." Arthur explained, causing Yao's eyebrows to rise. Magic?! Under any other circumstance, he would not have believed it, but considering all he had seen recently, he decided to just accept the idea for the time being. "We can go there and maybe if he's around meet the keeper, Yong Soo."

Already rather certain of the answer, Yao asked, "Is he a… snake person too?"

Arthur nodded and chuckled with amusement. "Yes, he is. And we're called nagas, by the way, not 'snake persons'. That's our human name, at least. Hinduism and Buddhism portray our species as godly beings." A rather proud smile formed on the Brit's face, and Yao stared with surprise. He had never heard of them before, and he certainly did not know that these creatures were even recognized at all.

"That's… really neat," Yao admitted thoughtfully. He stared for another long while, almost admiringly, before adding, "I'd like to go to the Springs, Arthur." He smiled slightly, to which Arthur's smile widened and he nodded with approval.

"Alright, then! We'll go to the Springs and grab food afterwards." Yao needed something more than berries, Arthur thought. Maybe he would fish or catch a bird or something. He was relatively skilled with hunting due to his own need for survival urging him to hunt small animals. He did not need to do that for himself anymore, however, he thought as he remembered his meal from earlier. With a chuckle Arthur turned and began to slither out of the cave. Yao followed, keeping close to the naga.

XXX

Matthew had set up a tent of his own back at the campgrounds, which was where Kiku found himself at lunchtime. He stared from the school-supplied sandwich in his hands to the various items, ranging from stuffed animals to books on different nature-related… things that lay scattered around. He sat down on the ground beside the sleeping bag, waiting.

"Sorry, I had to take care of a few things," a voice murmured as the front of the tent opened and Matthew stepped inside. "Thanks for waiting!" Kiku said nothing, mind racing with what he planned to even say. Matthew did not seem to be bothered by this, for it was with a bright smile that he sat down in front of the boy. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Kiku swallowed thickly. "F- Feliciano mentioned the… snake men? And you said… you said your brothers talks about them?"

The smile on Matthew's faltered, and his expression turned into a curious one. "Ah… yes, that's right. See, um… when we were children we went on a camping trip out here with our parents and my brother… got lost. Then, after about two days he showed up back at the campsite. He was completely fine, thank God, but he… he wouldn't stop babbling about some snake creature he had met. We were only eight at the time, mind you, so what he said was taken with a grain of salt… And still is."

"He still goes on about it?" Kiku frowned, thinking over all of this. If they were real, were they hostile? The one that had attacked Yao certainly seemed it, but if Matthew's story was true and his brother had been returned in one piece, it seemed to suddenly be up for debate. "How exactly does he describe them?"

Matthew stared at Kiku for a moment, looking hesitant to share this information, before breathing a sigh and adjusting his glasses. "He goes on about them whenever he gets the chance. He says… he says they look just like humans but… with a snake's body. He described this whole world in the forest. Hot springs and gardens and meadows that… don't exist. I would know, I've searched the entire place with him a thousand times…"

There was a tension-filled silence in the tent. Kiku stared at Matthew with shock, still struggling to put together all of these pieces. Were the snake men real, then? He wanted the answer to be no, but… he had seen one! And now here he was, communicating with a total stranger who was telling stories of similar creatures…

After a moment, Matthew looked down and asked, "Why do you ask, anyway?" He fidgeted with his fingers awkwardly.

When Kiku spoke, his words were filled with hesitation. Embarrassed and worried he would be called out as an idiot or childish, he murmured, "I think my friend was taken by one. I know it sounds odd, but… he and I were walking together and… and this thing came out of nowhere and… and attacked him." Matthew's eyebrows rose and he opened his mouth to speak, but the Japanese boy continued on before he could, "He… he went missing for a day and then he came back and told me he was never going to see me again. I haven't seen him - or another friend of mine - since. No one knows what happened, but… I know what I saw…"

Matthew stared for a long time, mouth occasionally opening and tongue twitching as though planning to speak but unable to find the words. Then, he clenched his hands into fists and said, "You need to talk to my brother." He let out an almost hysterical chuckle. "I've never… actually met anyone other than Alfred who… who's even mentioned them… This is amazing."

Amazing? It was certainly not the word Kiku would have used. He furrowed his brow and nodded. "Maybe," he answered softly. "But… I do definitely want to talk to your brother. Soon."

XXX

He was surprised by how well Arthur kept a conversation, Yao thought as they talked and walked (or slithered, in the Brit's case). He occasionally thought back to his walks with Kiku and Feliks, and was reminded of how awkwardly silent they had been. This was much nicer, with Arthur telling stories and jokes and explaining things and altogether just… keeping them both preoccupied as they walked. Soon, sadly, Arthur stopped, looking around and flicking his tongue out repeatedly.

"Are we, um… close, aru?" Yao asked, following Arthur's lead and looking around as well. It just looked like more forest to him, honestly.

After a few seconds, Arthur nodded. "Yes, I think so!" He slithered to a nearby tree, which he inspected for a moment, sticking his tongue out a few more times. "Yong Soo's scent is strong here so I'd assume the Springs is nearby…" Yao wondered briefly how it was possible for him to forget, but perhaps that was giving the Brit too much credit as far as his navigation skills went.

They walked around a bit further, going deeper into the forest, when a voice called from the trees, "Arthur! Great to see you!" Yao looked up to see another naga coiled around a lower tree branch, his tail just a shade darker blue than Francis'. He had short, dark brown hair a bit like his own. "You looking for the Springs?"

Arthur smiled brightly. "Yes, we are! I was certain it was around here somewhere…"

Yong Soo nodded, allowing himself to drop from the branch with a thud. He chuckled and straightened himself up before slithering over to the others. An almost nervous laugh left him. "Yeah, I had to, ah… strengthen the guard spell. Had more humans trying to find the place." He rolled his eyes. "Guess I made it too strong though, huh?" He grinned sheepishly and made a beckoning gesture before turning and slithering in the opposite direction.

Arthur and Yao followed, and after a moment of silence the Brit turned and said, "This is Yong Soo, the keeper of the Springs." Yao nodded, eyeing the stranger curiously, unable to believe that meeting half-snake beings was becoming a normal thing for him. "Yong Soo, this is my new companion, Yao."

"Ooh, a human!" Yong Soo chuckled, turning to eye him for a moment in a way that made Yao's cheeks redden a bit. "He's kinda cute. Useful?"

"Very,"

Pride filled Yao's chest and the heat in his cheeks grew a bit more intense. He chuckled awkwardly and shrugged. "It's… nice to meet you, aru." Yong Soo smiled brightly but said nothing else. They continued on through the forest, and after a good five minutes or so came to a very tall row of bushes. Behind it running water could be heard.

"Here we are!" Yong Soo called cheerfully. He slithered through the brush, and nervously Yao followed, Arthur just a bit behind him. When he came to the other side of the bushes, he gasped, eyes going wide. It was a lake, he realized, eyes traveling over the steamy water. A waterfall poured down the side of a mountain. The whole place felt very… surreal, for lack of a better term. He walked over, kneeling down and very hesitantly dipping his fingers into the water, before letting out a gasp.

"It's warm!" It felt like bath water, he thought, shocked. Arthur chuckled and slithered over, nodding. Yao glanced up at the Brit. "How?" As a future science major, Yao felt he knew a pretty good deal about what made water warm, and there was nothing here that seemed to make any sense.

"Naga magic." Yong Soo explained cheerfully.

_ ((That's it! OTL I never finished it after that… But… hopefully you enjoyed what you read…!))_


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